Google Launches Advertiser-Friendly Email Matching Program

The jury is still out on whether you can truly remain anonymous online, and with the newest advertising announcement from Google, it just got harder to keep yourself hidden from Internet advertisers.

Just ahead of the opening of New York’s Advertising Week, Google announced in a blog post the launch of “Customer Match,” a new advertising service that would allow marketers to upload a list of email addresses that would automatically link with signed-in Google profiles. Promising a “secure and privacy-safe way” to identify and advertise to specific customers, Google thinks Customer Match will allow marketers to tailor not only the message of their campaigns, but also the exact moment of audience exposure.

“Whether they’re searching on Google, checking promotions on Gmail, or watching videos on YouTube, we can deliver the most relevant information based on what they’re doing, wherever they are, when they’re looking, and on any device they’re using,” Sridhar Ramaswamy, senior vice president of ads and commerce at Google, wrote in the post. “Today, we’re building on these capabilities with new ads innovations to deliver even more relevance.”

George Michie, chief marketing scientist for Merkle RKG, told Search Engine Land that while the service was still new, Customer Match could hold the key to turning browser-based advertisements from an imprecise tool to one capable of pinpoint precision.

“Browser behavioral targeting is a pretty crude tool – better than nothing, certainly – but pretty crude,” Michie said. “The ability to fold in real customer insight, understanding all the brand’s interactions with a person online and offline going as far back in history as you want is a gigantic leap forward.”

Customer Match may be available for use in time for the holiday shopping season, which could have a big impact on retail eCommerce performance.